Electoral Systems in Context

2017 ◽  
pp. 804-824
Author(s):  
Jack Vowles
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Party System ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Electoral Politics ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Third ◽  
System P ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Cleavage Structure

This chapter examines the consolidation of New Zealand’s mixed-member proportional (MMP) electoral system since the first MMP election in 1996. It has three sections: the first examines whether the change to MMP has achieved the goals of electoral reformers or confirmed the fears of its opponents; the second draws on longer-term historical analysis to assess the fit between the MMP system and the cleavage structure of New Zealand’s electoral politics and its party system; and the third provides some evidence from individual-level opinion and behavior since 1996, notably by outlining the attitudinal foundations of choice in the 2011 referendum that confirmed that New Zealand would retain the MMP system.

Continuity and Change in Philippine Electoral Politics: A Re-Evaluation

1976 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-234
Author(s):  
James A. Curry
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Party System ◽  
Electoral Politics ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Martial Law ◽  
Machine Model ◽  
Continuity And Change ◽  
Drop Outs

One of the more recent drop-outs from the world's electoral club was the Philippines, a nation with a remarkably stable two-party system stretching, in the years since independence, over some twenty-five years. With the imposition of martial law in September 1972, the curtain was drawn, at least temporarily, on the longest running democracy in Southeast Asia. The purpose of this study is neither to praise nor bury the pre-1972 Philippine electoral system, but rather to look more closely at some recurring patterns which emerged during this period—patterns which, it will be argued, conform to a “machine model” of politics.

scholarly journals The Structure of Party Competition in the South: The Case of Florida

2004 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 41-65
Author(s):  
Jonathan Knuckey
Keyword(s):  
New Deal ◽  
Party System ◽  
Electoral Politics ◽  
Party Competition ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The New Deal ◽  
Important State ◽  
Weak Party

Although Florida has evolved from a one-party system into an intensely competitive two-party system, many studies of the state’s partisan and electoral politics continue to stress the importance of candidate-centered voting and weak party attachments, characteristics of a dealigned party system. This paper argues that such conclusions, based primarily on studies that employ individual-level data, are misleading. The paper examines the structure of the party vote across different political offices utilizing aggregate-level election returns at the county level through principal components factor analysis. Findings indicate that the New Deal vote alignment was disrupted at the presidential level in the 1960s, and a new stable alignment emerged in 1972. Consistent with the notion of a “top-down” or “creeping” realignment, the Post-New Deal alignment penetrated elections for U.S. Senate and governor from 1986 onwards, but came to structure cabinet office elections more gradually, with a culmination of this realignment in the 1990s. Overall, the paper argues that studies relying exclusively on individual-level data to examine Florida’s partisan and electoral politics have overlooked a great deal of structure and stability underlying the vote in this politically important state.

The Spanish Electoral System

2020 ◽  
pp. 388-409
Author(s):  
Agustí Bosch
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Electoral Systems ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
The Other ◽  
Regional Parties ◽  
Lower House ◽  
System P ◽  
The Future ◽  
The One

This chapter examines the Spanish electoral system, meaning—first and foremost—the one used to elect the lower house (Congreso de los Diputados). After a brief description of its components, the chapter assesses how its scarce proportionality has traditionally led Spanish politics towards a two-party system. The chapter also assesses some other of its alleged outcomes (such as the malapportionment, the weight of the regional parties, or the robustness of democracy) and its prospects for the future. Finally, the chapter also examines the ‘other’ Spanish electoral systems—that is, the ones used to elect the Senate, the local councils, the regional parliaments, and the Spanish seats in the European Parliament.

scholarly journals Federal-Provincial Voting and Federal Integration in the Fourth Canadian Party System

1969 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Royce Koop
Keyword(s):  
Research Design ◽  
Party System ◽  
Electoral Politics ◽  
New Parties ◽  
Behavioral Integration ◽  
Traditional Conception ◽  
The Third ◽  
Do So

This paper explores a particular form of federal-provincial integration, behavioral integration, in Canada since 1993. It argues that the nature of electoral politics and the party system in Canada since 1993 cannot be fully understood without an understanding of the nature and extent of federal-provincial party integration that occurs within it, especially with regard to differences in such integration between different federal parties and provinces. It argues more specifically that the traditional conception of “Affiliation Integration,” where federal-provincial integration takes place largely between federal and provincial parties of identical partisan affiliation, is still largely valid despite the 1993 electoral dealignment and the rise of two new parties in that election. In order to do so,reviewing the literature on the resulting four forms in Canada. In addition, this section will outline problems with the literature and how this paper addresses them. The second section will present the paper’s research design. In particular, it will outline the three measures of behavioral integration that will be utilized in the analysis section. The third section will test the paper’s hypotheses by measuring behavioral integration in a variety of forms. Finally, the paper will conclude by broadly evaluating federal-provincial integration in Canada since 1993 and by noting how a refined interpretation of such integration furthers our understanding of the Fourth Canadian Party System in general.

Electoral Systems in Context

2017 ◽  
pp. 762-780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian McAllister ◽  
Toni Makkai
Keyword(s):  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Party System ◽  
Electoral Systems ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Secret Ballot ◽  
Compulsory Voting ◽  
Lower House ◽  
System P ◽  
The World ◽  
2016 Election

Australia is often characterized as “a democratic laboratory,” where a wide variety of electoral systems have been designed and implemented. Australia gave the world “the Australian ballot” (or secret ballot), and it is one of the few countries to operate an enforced system of compulsory voting. This chapter examines the evolution of the electoral systems in the lower House of Representatives and in the upper house, the Senate. Particular attention is given to the design of the Senate electoral system, and to the changes that were implemented at the 2016 election to eliminate the proliferation of “micro parties.” The development of compulsory voting is also outlined, and its consequences for the party system evaluated. Finally, the chapter discusses the major challenges to reform of the electoral system.

Party System Linkage

2020 ◽  
pp. 102-131
Author(s):  
Lori Thorlakson
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
System Level ◽  
Fiscal Centralization ◽  
Electoral Support ◽  
Subnational Elections ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Number Of Parties ◽  
Social Cleavage ◽  
Cleavage Structure

This chapter examines two forms of integrated politics at the party system level, party system congruence and party system nationalization. Drawing on data from over 2,220 subnational elections in seven multi-level systems, it assesses three forms of party system congruence across the units of a multi-level system: similarity of the number of parties, electoral support, and similarity of the magnitude and direction of the electoral swing. Using the index of cumulative regional inequality (CRI), it measures the territorial concentration of party systems. The analysis shows that fiscal centralization and administrative interdependence predict integrated politics in the form of more congruent patterns of electoral support. There are limits to the institutional explanation. The electoral system and social cleavage structure are important explanations of variation in party system structures and territorial concentration.

Islamism and Party Politics in Indonesia

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Tomsa
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Electoral Politics ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Quality Of Democracy ◽  
Sharia Law ◽  
The Right ◽  
Islamic Parties ◽  
And Behavior

The inclusion-moderation theory posits that radical parties will abandon their most extreme goals and become more moderate in ideology and behavior if they are included in competitive electoral politics. The case of Indonesia confirms many assumptions of this theory, demonstrating that Islamist parties can indeed become more moderate as a result of their inclusion in formal electoral politics. Certain supporting conditions, however, may need to be in place, and even if moderation does occur it may not always be conducive to the quality of democracy. In Indonesia, the first experiment with including Islamist parties in electoral politics in the 1950s failed, but when democracy was eventually restored in 1998, the evolution of the two main Islamist parties that established themselves in the party system followed what proponents of the inclusion-moderation theory would expect. Both the United Development Party (Partai Persatuan Pembangunan) and the Prosperous Justice Party (Partai Keadilan Sejahtera) abandoned their original goals of turning Indonesia into an Islamic state based on sharia law. Like other radical parties in similar political contexts, they moderated in response to institutional incentives and immersion in parliamentary and cabinet politics. By the time Indonesia started preparing for the 2019 elections, both parties were basically mainstream conservative Islamic parties, which, in view of their behavioral and to a lesser extent ideological moderation, should no longer be considered Islamist parties. However, the moderation of these parties has not led to a deepening of Indonesian democracy. On the contrary, while Islamist parties moved to the center, ostensibly secular parties moved increasingly to the right, supporting religiously conservative initiatives and policies, and forming alliances with Islamist actors outside the party spectrum. Thus, Indonesia underwent a process of Islamization despite the moderation of its Islamist parties.

Electoral Systems in Context

2017 ◽  
pp. 580-600
Author(s):  
Reuven Y. Hazan ◽  
Reut Itzkovitch-Malka ◽  
Gideon Rahat
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Electoral Systems ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
The Political ◽  
Legislative Behavior ◽  
Reform Initiatives ◽  
Government Formation ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
System P ◽  
Election Results

This chapter, which focuses on the Israeli electoral system as a prototype of an extreme PR system, has five main sections. First, it uses the 2015 election results to analyze the properties of the electoral system and the nature of its outputs. Second, it reviews the three prominent features of the Israeli electoral system and their origins: its PR electoral formula, its nationwide electoral district, and its closed party lists. Third, it examines the developments that led to the consideration and implementation of reform initiatives. Fourth, it assesses the political consequences of the system for parties and the party system, for government formation and durability, and for the legislature and legislative behavior. Fifth, it addresses the puzzle of increased personalization despite the absence of a personalized electoral system.

The Electoral System

2020 ◽  
pp. 202-218
Author(s):  
Elias Dinas
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Debt Crisis ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Party Competition ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
The Political ◽  
System P ◽  
Electoral Laws ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Electoral Law

As new democracies consolidate, so do their accompanying party systems. A key factor contributing to this process is the establishment of rigid electoral laws that set the rules of the game. With seven reforms since its inauguration in 1974, the Greek electoral system has been an exception to this rule. Although change has been sometimes incremental and other times short lived, it has kept the electoral system in the political agenda. In this article I review the trajectory of the electoral law in Greece and look at the way the discussion over electoral reform developed along the process of party-system maturation. In so doing, I try to shed light on what seems to be an interesting paradox: the electoral system in Greece appeared most robust exactly in the same period in which the party system was most volatile, amidst the debt crisis. The political turmoil which the crisis generated seems to have shaped Greek politics and party competition in many aspects apart from the otherwise fluid electoral system.

scholarly journals Executive power 60 years on: has anything changed?

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Harshan Kumarasingham
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Party System ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Proportional Representation ◽  
Executive Power ◽  
Checks And Balances ◽  
Prime Ministers

When New Zealand changed its electoral system from first-past-the-post (FPP) to mixed member proportional representation (MMP), the move was heralded as the end of old politics. Prime ministers and their Cabinet would no longer be the ‘elected dictatorship’. The executive would now be constrained by greater checks and balances. The two-party system that had held New Zealand politics hostage for at least 60 years would end and instead a greater diversity of interests would be represented in the House of Representatives, a House that could better hold the executive to account. This was the aim, but has it happened? This article examines recent instances of executive actions that are akin to those taken in the FFP era that MMP has been unable to eliminate. It also offers suggestions for how to increase the accountability of the executive by strengthening the constitution and other branches and offices of state. 

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